Card game method and apparatus for playing the same

ABSTRACT

A method of playing a poker-style game, the method including (a) dealing an initial player hand to a player and an initial dealer hand to a dealer, the initial dealer hand being dealt face up, (b) dealing at least one community card face up, (c) determining a player hand ranking by forming a best player hand as a subset of the initial player hand and the at least one community card, (d) determining a dealer hand ranking by forming a best dealer hand as a subset of the initial dealer hand and the at least one community card, (f) comparing the player hand ranking to the to the dealer hand ranking to determine a winner.

This patent application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) ofU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/206,187 filed Jan. 28, 2009,which application is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention broadly relates to card games and rules for playing cardgames.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A multitude of poker and poker style games are well known in the art.These games involve task players to form certain card combinations orhands, such as flushes, straights, pairs, and so on, to beat otherplayers' hands. One popular variant is commonly known as “hold' em”poker. In hold' em-style games, players must form the best poker hand asa subset of hole cards dealt face down and are private to each player,and a group of community cards which are face up and available to allplayers. Typically, two hole cards are dealt to each player, and fivecommunity cards are available for use by all players, with portions ofthe five cards being dealt out over several betting rounds.

Due to the combination of private and shared cards, the game becomesquite complex and requires a lot of skill to master. Players must learnthe probabilities of certain hands being formed, know when to fold andwhen to bet, how and when to bluff, and how to read an opponent'sactions and/or bluffs. Thus, mathematically strong players who cancalculate the odds of winning with any set of cards will still oftenlose if they can not hide their own emotions or read those of theiropponents. Likewise, players who are very good at reading other playersand who can make strong bluffs will still often lose if they areconstantly taking risks because they do not understand pokerprobabilities. As a result, many novice players, who have not yet hadthe time to master the techniques required to be a good hold' em playerdo not often play, especially for money.

It is a constant goal of casinos and other gaming establishments toprovide new games and activities that appeal to the widest range ofplayers, from beginners to experts. Furthermore, there is a desire fornew poker style games to be played in a causal or social setting, whichmust be fun and engaging. However, many novice players can beintimidated from even attempting to play a complex game against adealer, to participate in a sponsored tournament, or participate in asocial event. Thus, there is a desire for a live table game whichenables even inexperienced players to easily learn, engage in, and enjoythe game, while also teaching advanced strategies for playing otherpoker or hold' em variants.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention broadly comprises a method of playing apoker-style game, the method including (a) dealing an initial playerhand to a player and an initial dealer hand to a dealer, the initialdealer hand being dealt face up, (b) dealing at least one community cardface up, (c) determining a player hand ranking by forming a best playerhand as a subset of the initial player hand and the at least onecommunity card, (d) determining a dealer hand ranking by forming a bestdealer hand as a subset of the initial dealer hand and the at least onecommunity card, (f) comparing the player hand ranking to the to thedealer hand ranking to determine a winner. In one embodiment, the dealerwins if the player hand ranking is worse than the dealer hand rankingand loses if the player hand ranking is better than the dealer handranking. In one embodiment, a tie results if the player hand ranking andthe dealer hand ranking are equivalent.

In one embodiment, the initial dealer hand and the initial player handeach comprise two cards and the at least one community card consists offive cards. In a further embodiment, the best player hand is formed byselecting five total cards from the initial player hand and thecommunity cards, and wherein the best dealer hand is formed by selectingfive total cards from the initial dealer hand and the community cards.In one embodiment, the method is performed using at least one standarddeck of fifty-two cards. In another embodiment, the method furtherincludes awarding the player if the initial player hand resembles apredetermined combination of cards.

The current invention also broadly comprises a method of playing apoker-style game between a dealer and a player, the method including (a)dealing an initial dealer hand to the dealer, the initial dealer handbeing dealt face up, (b) dealing an initial player hand to the player ifthe player makes a play wager, otherwise ending play and collecting ablind wager from the player, (c) dealing at least one community cardface up if the player makes a board wager, otherwise ending play andcollecting at least a portion of the blind wager and/or the play wagerfrom the player, (d) determining a player hand ranking by forming a bestplayer hand as a subset of the initial player hand and the at least onecommunity card, (e) determining a dealer hand ranking by forming a bestdealer hand as a subset of the initial dealer hand and the at least onecommunity card, and, (f) comparing the player hand ranking to the to thedealer hand ranking for determining a winner.

In one embodiment, wherein after step (f), the method further comprises(g) collecting at least a portion of the board, play, and blind wagersfrom the player if the dealer hand ranking is better than the playerhand ranking, and awarding the player with an amount proportional to theboard wager, the play wager, the blind wager, or a combination thereofif the dealer hand ranking is worse than the player hand ranking. In afurther embodiment, the player is awarded even money on the blind, play,and/or board wagers in step (g) if the player hand ranking is betterthan the dealer hand ranking. In one embodiment, the player is awardedaccording to a payout table with respect to the board wager in step (g),if the best player hand resembles a special predetermined handcombination. In another embodiment, the player is awarded according tothe payout table, regardless of a result of the comparing of the playerhand ranking and dealer hand ranking in step (f). In one embodiment, theat least one community card consists of five cards. In anotherembodiment, the value of the play wager is proportional to the value ofthe blind wager. In one embodiment, the dealer hand ranking and playerhand ranking are determined following standard rules of poker handvaluation.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises (h) dealing the initialplayer hand to the player if the player makes a bonus wager, regardlessof the player making or not making the blind, play, or board wagers. Inone embodiment, the player must make the bonus wager before any cardsare dealt. In another embodiment, the player is awarded a payoutaccording to a payout table if the initial player hand resembles apredetermined combination of cards.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will bereadily appreciable from the following description of preferredembodiments of the invention and from the accompanying drawings andclaims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The nature and mode of operation of the present invention will now bemore fully described in the following detailed description of theinvention taken with the accompanying drawing figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a poker table for playing a gameaccording to the current invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic layout of a player position included on the tableshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of the table shown in FIG. 1, depictingone example of a round of the current invention in play;

FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating one example of playing a gameaccording to the current invention; and,

FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating one example of playing a side gamesimultaneously with the game represented in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

At the outset, it should be appreciated that like drawing numbers ondifferent drawing views identify identical, or functionally similar,structural elements of the invention. While the present invention isdescribed with respect to what is presently considered to be thepreferred aspects, it is to be understood that the invention as claimedis not limited to the disclosed aspects.

Furthermore, it is understood that this invention is not limited to theparticular methodology, materials and modifications described and assuch may, of course, vary. It is also understood that the terminologyused herein is for the purpose of describing particular aspects only,and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention, whichis limited only by the appended claims.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meaning as commonly understood to one of ordinary skill inthe art to which this invention belongs. Although any methods, devicesor materials similar or equivalent to those described herein can be usedin the practice or testing of the invention, the preferred methods,devices, and materials are now described.

Referring now to the figures, FIG. 1 shows a schematic overview of atable top poker game according to the current invention. The game isplayed by at least one player against a dealer using a deck of cards.Cards are well known in the art, each having a value and a suitidentified on a face of the card. The backs of every card in a deck aremade to be substantially identical so that cards are indistinguishablewhen the cards are face down. Thus, “face down” refers to when the faceof the card is hidden, and “face up” generally refers to when the suitand value of the card is revealed. A standard deck of cards typicallyincludes fifty-two total cards, having four suits: hearts (♡), clubs

, spades

, and diamonds (♦); each suit having one card of each value: 2, 3, 4, 5,6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A. It should be understood that multipledecks are often used in casinos or other gaming centers to eliminatecard counting. Alternatively, the deck could be shuffled between eachround of play. It should also be appreciated that modified decks couldsimilarly be used, containing any other combination cards having varioussuits and values, although the above described is well known as the mostpopular and commonly used.

In the shown embodiment, the game is run on table 10 by dealer 12. Thetable could be any appropriately dimensioned table, such as a poker,blackjack, or other card-game table which includes an appropriate gamingsurface. Table 10 includes a plurality of player positions 14 foraccommodating players of the game. Chip rack 16 may be included on thetable or proximate to the table within reach of the dealer. Table 10also includes an area for placement of the cards in the dealer's hand,generally designated with numeral 18, an area for placement of the cardsin the players' hands, generally designated with numeral 20, and an areaof the table is also reserved for placement of community cards,generally designated with numeral 21.

It should be appreciated that while seven player positions 14 are shownfor accommodating up to seven players to play the game simultaneously,tables of varying sizes could be used in lieu of table 10 having more orless player positions. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that onlyone player and a dealer is required to play the game. That is, the gameis played individually by each player against the dealer, and theplayers are not competing with each other. Thus, all player positions donot need to be filled by players to initiate play. Thus, if all sevenplayer positions 14 are occupied by seven different players, it ispossible that every single player could win in any given round.

Player position 14 is shown in more detail in FIG. 2. In the shownembodiment, each player position includes indicia indicating how bettingis to occur. For example, player positions 14 includes blind wagerindicia 22, play wager indicia 24, board wager indicia 26, bonus wagerindicia 28. These indicia could be any combination of shapes, symbols,or words indicating that the player is to place a bid or wager on thetable to continue or initiate play at various steps of the game, asdescribed below. It should be understood that other terminology could beused to describe certain bidding or wagering steps or phases. Forexample, the blind wager may be alternatively referred to as an ante, orplaying the board wager as going “all-in.” Furthermore, indicia may notbe included for example, to indicate the placement of the cards, whichwould instead be placed by the dealer in designated, but unmarked,locations.

FIG. 3 is a more detailed view of table 10, which is included to clarifythe steps of game according to the current invention which are outlinedin the flow charts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Game 30 is shown in FIG. 4.Starting at step 50, the player must make a blind wager or ante to beincluded in a round of play. In the shown embodiment, the player wouldindicate a wager was being made, for example, by placing a betting chip,token, or other form of currency on the table, particularly in the areadesignated by blind wager indicia 22.

In step 52, the dealer deals himself an initial dealer hand, such asrandomly from a deck of cards. In the example shown in FIG. 3, theinitial dealer hand consists of two cards: a four of spades

and a six of hearts (6♡). Since both cards are low values and ofdifferent suits, a player would should that this is a weak hand thatcould probably be beaten. Before dealing any other cards, each player isfaced with a decision. The player can fold by proceeding to step 54A, ormake a play wager in step 54B. If a player folds in step 54A, then thegame ends for that player, and the player forfeits the blind wager madein step 50 as indicated in step 55. For example, in the shown embodimenta player indicates that a play wager is being made by placing arequisite amount of chips or tokens on play wager indicia 24. The gamecontinues as long as any player makes a play wager by choosing step 54B.

Any players still in the game then receive two of their initial playerhand of cards in step 56. These may be referred to as “hole cards.” Asrepresented with numeral 20 in FIG. 3, these cards are preferably dealtface down, to each player that is at a player position 14. Even thoughthe players are not competing against each other, each initial playerhand is preferably dealt face down, so the other players can not seethem. If they were dealt face up, savvy players would be able to cardcount, unfairly increasing their chances of success. Each player thenexamines his or her hand, and must decide whether to fold in step 58A ormake a board wager (all-in) in step 58B. A player indicates that a boardwager is being made, for example, by placing the requisite amount ofchips or tokens on board wager indicia 26. Like step MA, folding in step58A ends the game for that player and requires the player to forfeit atleast a portion of the blind and play wagers in step 59.

Play continues if any players choose to make the board wager in step58B. After the board wager, at least one community card is played, whichcard is available for use by all players. Once all community cards arerevealed, all face down player cards are flipped over. Then, in step 62the dealer and each player that is still in the game makes the bestpoker hand using a combination of their hole cards and the communitycards. Each player's best poker hand is then compared with the dealer'sbest poker hand. If the ranking of the player's hand is higher, then theplayer wins. If the ranking is lower, then the dealer wins. If theranking is the same, then the dealer, casino, or gaming establishmentcould institute an in-house rule making this result in a tie (all chipsare returned to player), a win (player wins more chips than bet), or aloss (player loses at least some chips).

Typically, a poker hand consists of exactly five cards. Accordingly, thebest hand is formed as a subset of the total available cards since thetotal number of cards available to the player is equal to or more thanthe poker hand size. For example, if two hole cards and five communitycards are used, each player and the dealer may have to form the bestfive card hand out of the seven cards available. A player can not useanother player's or the dealer's hole cards. It should also beappreciated that in one embodiment two hole cards and only threecommunity cards are dealt, so all players must use all community cardsand all hole cards to form a hand. In another embodiment, there could bethree hole cards and only two, three, or four community cards. It shouldbe understood that any combination of hole and community cards could beused with any poker hand count, but a five card hand formed as a subsetof two hole cards and five community cards obtains good results forcreating consistently exciting rounds of play.

The formation of best poker hands and relative ranking of these handsfor a standard deck of cards should be readily appreciated, as similarformation and ranking rules are used in virtually all forms of poker.However, a few examples are provided for illustration. In the exampleshown in FIG. 3, there are five community cards consisting of a king ofspades, ace of diamonds, two of diamonds, jack of diamonds, and six ofclubs. In this example, the dealer must make the best five card hand outof the seven cards available to the dealer (4

, 6♡, K

, A♦, 2♦, J♦, 6

). The best hand available to dealer would be the pair of sixes (6♡ fromhole cards and 6

from the community cards). If a player had a king, ace, or jack as ahole card, that player could pair it with the corresponding communitycard (K

, A♦, and J♦, respectively) and beat the dealer's pair of sixes. Aplayer could also win this round, for example, if both the player'scards were diamonds, because then they would have a flush (A♦, 2♦, J♦,and two hole cards which are diamonds). A player's or the dealer's besthand may be formed solely from community cards.

It should also be appreciated that additional betting or wagering stepscould be inserted, if the community cards were dealt out in portionsover several steps. For example, three community cards could be dealt,and the player given the chance again to fold or make a further boardwager, then another two cards could be dealt. Thus, any number ofbetting or wagering steps could be inserted into a round of the game,with the dealing of a portion of the community cards between eachbetting step.

In an alternate embodiment, illustrated as game 40 in FIG. 5, the playermay be required to, or have the option of, making a bonus wager, asindicated by step 66 which activates a bonus game to occursimultaneously with game 30 described with respect to FIG. 4. The playerindicates the bonus wager is being made, for example, by placing chipsover bonus wager indicia 28. In the bonus game, a player will win abonus amount for being dealt certain special combinations of hole cards.These payouts may be even money on the bonus wager made, proportional tothe wager made, or determined by a payout table. For example a player inthe bonus game may be awarded 25:1 for two aces, 10:1 for a king and anace of the same suit, 5:1 for a king and an ace of different suits, 2:1for any pair of number valued cards, and so on. A casino, dealer, orother gaming establishment could set the payouts and predeterminedspecial card conditions in advance of the game being played.

Dashed lines are used to indicate that the steps that determine theoutcome of the bonus game. The only step required by both games is step56, although steps of game 40 may be required to occur before or aftercertain steps of game 30 to remain fair to all players. The bonus roundsteps may occur simultaneously with the steps of the game shown in FIG.4, and these steps do not need to affect the outcome or play of thatgame. Thus, the same steps and numerals are used between FIGS. 4 and 5with respect to game 30. In bonus game 40, after making the bonus wager,the player will receive two cards in step 56 and will remain in thebonus game, regardless of if that player folds in steps 54A or 58A.Players who wish to participate in both game 30 and bonus game 40 mustmake the play and board wagers to stay in the game as described above.Players of the bonus game do not need to make any wagers besides theinitial bonus wager, as indicated by the dashed lines. After the playerreceives the two hole cards in step 56, the winners of the bonus gameare determined in step 68. In one embodiment, so as not to influence thedecisions of the other players, the determination of winners in step 68occurs after all players have decided between steps 58A and 58B. Asmentioned above, winners are determined if a player's hole cards formcertain rare or predetermined special combinations. Players who aredealt one of these combinations and that are in the bonus game willreceive a winning payout. Thus, if the player does fold, he can not wingame 30 in step 64, but can proceed to the end of bonus game 40 at step68 and win.

In another embodiment, the bonus wager may be made by the player at adifferent point in the game, such as after the dealer hand is dealt. Inanother embodiment, a player may only be eligible to win the bonus gameif they do not fold. The payouts may have to be adjusted depending onthese alternate rules of the bonus round.

It should be appreciated that various amounts could be required atdifferent betting stages, and that different payouts could be awarded asdetermined by the dealer, casino, or gaming establishment. In oneembodiment, the game is played without any wagers, and all playersremain in the game. In one embodiment, the player collects even money onthe play, blind, and/or board wagers, or an amount proportional to thewagers. In another embodiment, the board wager is paid according to apayout table, with certain hands receiving higher pay. For example, withrespect to the board wager made, a royal flush may pay 50:1, a straightflush 30:1, a four of a kind 15:1, a full house 5:1, a flush 3:1, astraight 2:1, a three of a kind 1:1, and so on. Thus, in this embodimenta player may beat the dealer, but not collect winnings on the boardwager (such as if the player only has a pair of cards). In oneembodiment, the player loses all wagers made up to that point whenfolding. In another embodiment, only a portion of the wagers is lostwhen folding. For example, in one embodiment the play wager may be twiceor four times the blind wager, but only one half of the play wager isforfeited if the player folds. It should be appreciated that otherpayouts for wagers, or certain hands or conditions may be rewarded, asset by the casino, dealer, or particular gaming establishment.

Unlike any other poker or hold' em style games, the dealer's hand isdealt face up, so that the players know exactly what they are playingagainst. As discussed above, hold' em style poker games inherently lendthemselves to a large degree of strategy, including analysis of cardprobabilities, other player's moves and even body language, how and whento bluff, and so on. Advantageously, playing against the dealer makesthe game more accessible to beginners and less skilled players, sincethey do not have to play against other players, and therefore can learnthe basics of the game without having to yet master subtleties andadvanced maneuvers, such as bluffing. By further revealing the dealer'shand, it allows the players “cheat,” enabling even the least skilled ormost novice players to be successful. Additionally, it enables playersto get an appreciation for the probabilities of certain cardcombinations occurring, such as flushes, straights, full houses, threeof a kinds, four of a kinds, and so on, which would allow those playersto be more comfortable in playing other variants of poker.

While more accessible to novice or less skilled players, the gameremains fun, exciting, tense, and engaging by including several chancesfor the player to bet or fold. Slot machines are relatively “mindless”and not very engaging because they include only a single bet resultingin a win or a loss. The current invention game allows players to makedecisions during the game, resulting in increased involvement, andtherefore tension and excitement. Emotional highs and lows areinherently present in all gambling to various degrees, increasing theappeal of gambling for many people. By including the various bettingstages, players of the current invention game must make decisions duringthe game, enabling them to experience these emotional highs and lows,and increasing the appeal of the game. Even if no money is being wageredor played for, these decisions will still engage the players in the gamefor a more fulfilling experience.

It should also be appreciated by one of ordinary skill in the art thatsince the player is playing against the dealer only, and that the dealermust always follow predefined steps based on the player's actions, theabove described game and method naturally lends itself also to beingexecuted by a computer or similar electronic processing device in anelectronic or video adaptation. An electronic adaptation could be madeby encoding the steps outlined in FIG. 4 or 5 into a software programand executing the software by dealer 12, which would be a computerand/or processor. Accordingly, table 10 may be graphically displayed asan image to the player, along with the various cards and bettingindicia, and include some means for receiving player input, such as akeyboard, mouse, touch screen, or the like, all of which are well knownin the art. In an electronic game, the player may be playing for“points” in an attempt to reach a high score, or the game could belinked to a credit card, bank account, debit account, or the like, forrewarding and subtracting funds from that player. Accordingly, the scopeof the current invention method is intended to cover any form of playingthe game, regardless of medium.

Thus, it is seen that the objects of the present invention areefficiently obtained, although modifications and changes to theinvention should be readily apparent to those having ordinary skill inthe art, which modifications are intended to be within the spirit andscope of the invention as claimed. It also is understood that theforegoing description is illustrative of the present invention andshould not be considered as limiting. Therefore, other embodiments ofthe present invention are possible without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention.

1. A method of playing a poker-style game, said method comprising: (a)dealing an initial player hand to a player and an initial dealer hand toa dealer, said initial dealer hand being dealt face up; (b) dealing atleast one community card face up; (c) determining a player hand rankingby forming a best player hand as a subset of said initial player handand said at least one community card; (d) determining a dealer handranking by forming a best dealer hand as a subset of said initial dealerhand and said at least one community card; (f) comparing said playerhand ranking to said to said dealer hand ranking to determine a winner.2. The method recited in claim 1, wherein said dealer wins if saidplayer hand ranking is worse than said dealer hand ranking and loses ifsaid player hand ranking is better than said dealer hand ranking.
 3. Themethod recited in claim 1, wherein a tie results if said player handranking and said dealer hand ranking are equivalent.
 4. The methodrecited in claim 1, wherein said initial dealer hand and said initialplayer hand each comprise two cards and said at least one community cardconsists of five cards.
 5. The method recited in claim 4, wherein saidbest player hand is formed by selecting five total cards from saidinitial player hand and said community cards, and wherein said bestdealer hand is formed by selecting five total cards from said initialdealer hand and said community cards.
 6. The method recited in claim 1,wherein said method is performed using at least one standard deck offifty-two cards.
 7. The method recited in claim 1, further comprisingawarding said player if said initial player hand resembles apredetermined combination of cards.
 8. A method of playing a poker-stylegame between a dealer and a player, said method comprising: (a) dealingan initial dealer hand to said dealer, said initial dealer hand beingdealt face up; (b) dealing an initial player hand to said player if saidplayer makes a play wager, otherwise ending play and collecting a blindwager from said player; (c) dealing at least one community card face upif said player makes a board wager, otherwise ending play and collectingat least a portion of said blind wager and/or said play wager from saidplayer; (d) determining a player hand ranking by forming a best playerhand as a subset of said initial player hand and said at least onecommunity card; (e) determining a dealer hand ranking by forming a bestdealer hand as a subset of said initial dealer hand and said at leastone community card; and, (f) comparing said player hand ranking to saidto said dealer hand ranking for determining a winner.
 9. The methodrecited in claim 8, wherein after step (f), said method furthercomprises: (g) collecting at least a portion of said board, play, andblind wagers from said player if said dealer hand ranking is better thansaid player hand ranking, and awarding said player with an amountproportional to said board wager, said play wager, said blind wager, ora combination thereof if said dealer hand ranking is worse than saidplayer hand ranking.
 10. The method recited in claim 9, wherein saidplayer is awarded even money on said blind, play, and/or board wagers instep (g) if said player hand ranking is better than said dealer handranking.
 11. The method recited in claim 9, wherein said player isawarded according to a payout table with respect to said board wager instep (g), if said best player hand resembles a special predeterminedhand combination.
 12. The method recited in claim 11, wherein saidplayer is awarded according to said payout table, regardless of a resultof said comparing of said player hand ranking and dealer hand ranking instep (f).
 13. The method recited in claim 8, wherein said at least onecommunity card consists of five cards.
 14. The method recited in claim8, wherein a value of said play wager is proportional to a value of saidblind wager.
 15. The method recited in claim 8, wherein said dealer handranking and said player hand ranking are determined following standardrules of poker hand valuation.
 16. The method recited in claim 8,further comprising: (h) dealing said initial player hand to said playerif said player makes a bonus wager, regardless of said player making ornot making said blind, play, or board wagers.
 17. The method recited inclaim 16, wherein said player must make said bonus wager before anycards are dealt.
 18. The method recited in claim 16, wherein said playeris awarded a payout according to a payout table if said initial playerhand resembles a predetermined combination of cards.